On October 18, 1961, the film adaptation of the Broadway musical West Side Story premiered in New York City, New York. The film reimagined William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet as a love story between two young people caught in the middle of a rivalry between Puerto Rican and White street gangs. The 1960 Census counted 892,513 people of Puerto Rican birth or parentage in the United States, including 612,574 in New York City—68.6 percent of the nation's Puerto Rican population.

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Inspired by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story follows Tony, a former member of the Jets street gang, and Maria, the sister of Bernardo, leader of the rivals Sharks gang. Through memorable songs such as "Maria," "Tonight," "America," and "Somewhere," the film explores themes of immigration, prejudice, identity, and assimilation while depicting the tensions accompanying New York City's rapidly changing neighborhoods during the postwar era. Its innovative choreography, urban setting, and cinematic style helped redefine the movie musical, making it one of Hollywood's most influential and enduring films.

While movie audiences were captivated by West Side Story's music and choreography, the musical also reflected the changing demographics of New York City as large numbers of Puerto Ricans migrated from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States following World War II. The 1960 Census documented this population shift, finding that 892,513 people in 50 States and District of Columbia were of Puerto Rican birth or parentage. Of that total, 612,574 lived in New York City, accounting for 68.6 percent of the nation's Puerto Rican population. The city's Puerto Rican community had grown rapidly during the 1950s, particularly in East Harlem, the South Bronx, and neighborhoods in Brooklyn, as migrants sought employment and educational opportunities. Their arrival helped reshape the city's economy, neighborhoods, and cultural life during the same period that West Side Story was set and filmed.

The musical also reflects the cultural and linguistic experiences of many Puerto Rican New Yorkers, incorporating Spanish words and phrases into its dialogue and songs. While the 1960 Census counted the nation's Puerto Rican population, the Census Bureau later expanded its collection of data on language spoken at home to measure the nation's changing linguistic diversity. Beginning with the 1980 Census, the Census Bureau collected information on language spoken at home and tabulated the data for the population age 5 and older. That year, 11,116,194 people age 5 and older spoke Spanish or Spanish Creole at home. In 2024, the American Community Survey estimated that nearly 44.9 million of the nation's 321.7 million people age 5 and older spoke Spanish at home, making it the most widely spoken non-English language in the United States.

Although West Side Story will mark the 65th anniversary of its premiere later this month, the film's enduring popularity can be seen in our nation's popular culture, as it has inspired Broadway revivals and a 2021 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg. Its influence can also be seen in works that used music and choreography to explore urban conflict and cultural identity, including Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton and the choreographed gang scenes featured in Michael Jackson's music video for "Beat It."

You can learn more about West Side Story and our nation's Puerto Rican population using data and records collected by the Census Bureau. For example:

• Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1918. He unexpectedly made his New York Philharmonic conducting debut in 1943, when conductor Bruno Walter fell ill. His first Broadway musical—On the Town—premiered one year later in 1944. His work on the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story is widely regarded as one of his greatest achievements. The musical received the Tony Award for Best Musical, and its original cast album received a Grammy Award. As a composer, Bernstein was one of the 193,310 people classified as "Musicians and Music Teachers" (which included composers, arrangers, and conductors) during the 1960 Census.
• Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics for the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story, including "Maria," "Tonight," "America," and "I Feel Pretty." These songs also featured prominently in the 1961 and 2021 film adaptations. Sondheim penned lyrics for Saturday Night, which was scheduled to premiere in 1954–1955, but that musical was postponed after the death of its producer. Sondheim also penned lyrics for other iconic Broadway musicals, including A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), and Sunday in the Park with George (1984). During his career, he received eight Tony Awards, including a Special Tony for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater; an Academy Award; eight Grammy Awards; five Olivier Awards; a Pulitzer Prize; the Kennedy Center Honor; the Presidential Medal of Freedom; and induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame. The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns series reports data for the Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (NAICS 711510) industry, which includes independent writers like Sondheim. In 2023, the industry employed 64,940 people during the pay period that included March 12.
• Rita Moreno became the first Hispanic woman to win an Academy Award when she was honored as Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Anita in the 1961 film adaptation of West Side Story. She was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico, in 1931 and raised in Juncos. One year earlier, the 1930 Census of Puerto Rico counted 7,937 people living in Humacao and 5,297 people in Juncos. In 2025, the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program estimated the populations of Humacao and Juncos municipios at 49,249 and 36,639, respectively.
• Before 1970, the Census Bureau measured Hispanic populations using several different approaches, including race, place of birth, parental birthplace, mother tongue, and Spanish surname. For example, the 1930 Census included "Mexican" as a race category, while the 1950 and 1960 Censuses collected data on people with Spanish surname in selected states. In 1970, a sample of households answered a question about Spanish origin or descent, and the Census Bureau reported approximately 9.1 million people of Spanish origin. Response categories included Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, and Other Spanish. During the 2020 Census, all households were asked the Hispanic or Latino origin question. The census counted 62.1 million people of Hispanic or Latino origin, representing 18.7 percent of the U.S. population.
• Theatrical productions and the film industry employ thousands of people in the United States. For example, the Census Bureau estimated that in 2024, 57,371 people worked as actors; 86,951 worked as producers and directors; 47,133 worked as dancers and choreographers; 84,265 worked as business managers of artists, performers, and athletes; 65,487 were music directors and composers; 50,346 were musicians and singers; 68,787 were broadcast, sound, and lighting technicians; and 68,552 were television, video, and film camera operators and editors in 2024.
• West Side Story was one of the top-grossing films released in 1961, earning $19.6 million in domestic rentals. Other top-grossing films that year included The Guns of Navarone starring Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn; El Cid starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren; The Parent Trap starring Hayley Mills; and The Absent-Minded Professor starring Fred MacMurray.
• In 2023, the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns series reported 3,490 establishments in the Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (NAICS 711110) industry, employing 68,930 people during the pay period that included March 12. New York led the nation with 787 establishments and 16,102 employees in the industry. Americans watched movies at the nation's 4,347 Motion Picture and Video Exhibition establishments, including drive-in theaters. These establishments had 122,339 employees during the pay period that included March 12, 2023.
• The nation's Puerto Rican population has continued to grow since the release of West Side Story in 1961. In 1970, the census counted approximately 1.4 million people of Puerto Rican origin in the 50 States and District of Columbia. Decades after West Side Story's premiere, the nation's Puerto Rican population continued to grow, reaching an estimated 6.1 million in 2024. With a population of 585,977, New York City still had the nation's largest Puerto Rican community. There were also sizable communities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (119,823) and Chicago, Illinois (75,717). Puerto Ricans accounted for the largest share of the populations of Holyoke, Massachusetts (48.3 percent) and Reading, Pennsylvania (31.7 percent).

On October 5, 1978, Public Law 95-416—commonly known as the "72-Year Rule"—was enacted.

The 72-Year Rule provides that personally identifiable information collected during the decennial census is not publicly released until 72 years have passed. During the 72-year period, individual census records are protected from public release.

After 72 years, census records are released to the public by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). In accordance with this rule, the National Archives released the 1940 Census records on April 2, 2012, and the 1950 Census records on April 1, 2022. Records from the 1960 Census will be made available to the public in April 2032.